TOR OF DUTY

Michael Eavis is looking to allow another 30,000 people in for 2002...

The GLASTONBURY festival is seeking to increase the capacity of the 2002 event to 135,000.

Organisers have appealed for the licence to extend crowd size due to high costs caused by extra security measures. Glastonbury head Michael Eavis is spending £1.5million building a 12ft high steel perimeter fence to keep out gatecrashers, according to BBC News.

Council officials estimate that 200,000 people crammed into the last festival in June 2000, exceeding the public entertainment licence remit by 95,000. Eavis was fined £6,000 for breaching licence conditions. The 2001 festival was cancelled following security concerns.

A spokeswoman for Glastonbury Festival said: “We are putting in an awful lot more measures to try and stop the fence jumpers. They are not welcome because it is a health and safety risk. We are putting in a much bigger fence and security package but that has cost implications, and to fund it we need extra ticket sales.”

If organisers are successful with their application, 20,000 more tickets will be available to the public, with 10,000 set aside for traders, staff and stewards. The licence hearing is scheduled for November 29.